Farmers in Norway want fresh grass for their livestock and are threatening to drive off migratory geese – and their poop. As a result, it’s possible that tens of thousands of bean geese which are now in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark will have big problems on arrival in Norway when they begin their migration. Researcher Marcel Kaassen from the Dutch Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) pleads for international intervention in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
The small bean goose has two populations in Europe. One group winters in the United Kingdom and migrates to Greenland or Iceland for the warmer months. The Spitsbergen group flies from their winter homes in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to their breeding ground in Spitsbergen. They have rest stops throughout Norway during their journey.
